Sunday, May 2, 1999 Published at 19:56 GMT 20:56 UKWorld: EuropeKosovo diplomacy moves to USJesse Jackson: Mission to Yugoslavia was unofficialWashington is to become the centre of diplomatic initiatives to end the Kosovo conflict as Russia sends it Balkans envoy to the US capital.

President Bill Clinton is due to see both Viktor Chernomyrdin and the US civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson on Monday.

The Reverend Jackson, who secured the release of three US soldiers from captivity in Yugoslav, is to deliver a letter from President Slobodan Milosevic, in which the latter is understood to ask for a face-to-face meeting between the two presidents.

He said: "The current situation is far from simple, but it gives us hope that the efforts Russia has taken, and will take, are significant."

Mr Chernomyrdin visited Rome, Bonn and last week and has signalled his intention to visit London and Paris later this week.

He has not publicly discussed the results of his talks in Belgrade with Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic.

Russia condemns Nato air strikes against Yugoslavia but has been trying to find a way to end the bombing.

One major stumbling block has been Nato insistence that it leads any international peace-keeping force posted in Kosovo.

Yugoslavia opposes foreign troops on its soil.

But a US Congress team says it has secured agreement with a team of senior Russian lawmakers and an adviser to President Milosevic on a framework for resolving the Kosovo crisis.

Congressman Curt Weldon says the plan, drafted during two days of talks in Vienna, complies with Nato's conditions for stopping Operation Allied Force, and also takes into account Russian and Serbian concerns.

President Clinton is also facing renewed pressure to settle the Kosovo crisis quickly. Washington Correspondent Stephen Sackur says his Republican opponents are calling for a negotiated settlement.